1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flash photography and more particularly to photographic apparatus, such as still cameras and flash attachments, that are constructed to minimize a "red-eye" phenomenon wherein an objectionable red dot can be observed in the subject's eye in some flash photographs.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Since the early stages of photography, there has been a desire by consumers, and thus camera designers, for more compact cameras. However, as camera designs have become more and more compact, one distractive artifact has become more pronounced, specifically, the existence in some flash photographs, of a bright red dot aligned with the pupils of the subject's eyes. Studies have indicated that the likelihood and severity of this effect, termed "red-eye" by those skilled in the art, increases with decreases in the flash-to-lens separation of the photographic system. Thus the red-eye effect has imposed a serious problem in attempting to meet the strong desire for more compact cameras.
Previous design solutions to this problem have all invoked the approach of increasing the camera's flash-to-lens spacing. Thus flash extenders were provided for cameras adapted to use flashcubes and magicube flash units. An elongated, piezoelectrically-activated flashlamp unit provided another implementation of this approach, constituting a "built-in" flash extender. With evolving improvements in electronic flash technology, it has become desirable to build in or attach electronic flash units to cameras; and electronic flash units have been designed for attachment or, built-in in a telescoping fashion, to provide increased flash-to-lens spacing. However, this approach can increase the cost and complexity of the camera design. Thus, the approach of increasing flash-to-lens spacing still provides a severely limiting constraint in designing compact cameras.